1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to dental whitening systems, and more specifically, to a combined system for simultaneously bleaching, polishing, and re-mineralizing teeth.
2. Description of Related Art
Dental whitening systems are well known in the art and are effective means to bleach, whiten, or re-mineralize teeth. For example, FIG. 1 depicts a conventional dental whitening system 101 having an aqueous mixture 103 applied to one or more teeth 105, via an applicator 107. Among a variety of other compounds, aqueous mixture 103 generally includes one or more of an oxidizer (e.g., hydrogen peroxide), abrasives (e.g., silicon dioxide), or a mineral salt (e.g., sodium fluoride), not shown. In use, the presence of the oxidizer, abrasive, or mineral respectively serve to bleach, polish, or re-mineralize the teeth 105.
One of the problems commonly associated with system 101 is that aqueous mixture 103 is not stable, limiting use. For example, hydrogen peroxide is very reactive and must therefore be cooled long term to prevent the chemical from breaking down and losing its potency for bleaching teeth. However, cooling aqueous mixture 103 to stabilize the peroxide also slows down the chemical reactions that would result in the desired bleaching effect. This is seen as a disadvantage of conventional dental whitening systems.
Another disadvantage of conventional dental whitening systems is that the compounds necessary to re-mineralize and polish the teeth do not readily dissolve into aqueous mixture 103. For example, calcium fluoride, a relatively benign compound, does not dissolve readily into aqueous mixture 103 so the significantly more toxic sodium fluoride is often used. Alternatively, conventional dental whitening systems forgo the steps of re-mineralization or polishing the teeth 105 such that these steps must be completed separately.
Accordingly, although great strides have been made in the area of dental whitening systems, many shortcomings remain.
While the system and method of use of the present application is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present application as defined by the appended claims.